Wendy Lansdown
@wendylansdown.bsky.social
Believe in people, community and collaboration
5 common sense doable shifts, we can all contribute to making these happen, right? Thanks @profdonnahall.bsky.social @mutualventures.bsky.social
@andrewlaird.bsky.social · last yr.1/2 When Power Forgets the People... local/mayoral election results showed faith in public leaders & services has eroded. The social contract has worn thin. Inspired by others, @profdonnahall.bsky.social & I suggest a series of “shifts” to re-establish trust. www.mutualventures.co.uk/post/when-po...
Existing data on community-focused approaches show that improvement "isn't achieved through a single policy solution, but instead through the aggregation of many simultaneous changes to the way in which care is organised and delivered". theweek.com/health/washw...
theweek.com
Brilliant. Made me think! a missing voice tho(or perhaps just too quiet)... Whilst the NHS has a role in social justice, the responsibility is ours as a society and other partners (communities, councils & more) are ready to partner with NHS & maybe even to lead... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Moral Maze - What is the ethical purpose of the NHS? - BBC Sounds
Debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.
bbc.co.uk
“The edges of the system are..in direct contact with the new environmental conditions, so they feel more keenly the inadequacy of the prevailing methods.“ Esp ❤️6b & James' description of progressive I've felt this keenly this week Tx @beccadove2.bsky.social fire sharing medium.com/@jamestplunk...
The energy at the edges
The system is dying from the middle, but there’s vitality at the periphery
medium.com
'Budd wonders if the nastiness that defines some well-heeled rightwing politicians is often projected on to places where it runs a lot less deep, meaning that “the prejudices of the suburban golf club are imputed to the council-estate boxing club… a kind of ventriloquised xenophobia.'
Andrew Kelly@andrewkelly.bsky.social · last yr.‘…most of Underdogs vividly illustrates the point it was written to make: that in a political era as overheated and mendacious as ours, the plain truths of everyday life need to be heard and understood. In that sense, this book is not just well-timed but admirably powerful.’
Starlings fall to record low in UK’s 2025 Big Garden Birdwatch
Starlings fall to record low in UK’s 2025 Big Garden Birdwatch
RSPB urges people to support threatened birds by cutting lawns less frequently and avoiding pesticides Fewer starlings than ever have been spotted by participants in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, raising fears for their numbers. The bird conservation charity is urging Britain’s gardeners to keep their lawns wild by not cutting them too often, and to avoid the use of pesticides, which reduce the number of insects to eat and can poison birds. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
'For the sake of power, they are destroying an enterprise that added more than 30 years to US life expectancy and made America the world leader in medical technology and innovation. We need you in Congress to stop this process.'
Wendy Lansdown@wendylansdown.bsky.social · last yr.open.substack.com/pub/insideme...
Dr. Atul Gawande updates Senators on the destruction of USAID: "They dismantled the US’s largest civilian force advancing global stability, peace, economic growth, and survival."
This past week, Dr. Atul Gawande briefed US Senators on the effects that the destruction of USAID is already having. Here are the facts we need to know.
open.substack.com
Declaring emergencies to circumvent legal protections, in this case to justify logging national forests. "The memo has the effect of declaring nearly 60% of all national forestlands to be in a state of emergency, thereby lifting the usual requirements for public comment and environmental review..."
The Seattle Times@seattletimes-rss.bsky.social · last yr.More details surface in Trump administration plan to cut national forests
♥️ this👇🏼"Our focus is on how you create an enabling environment so that the type of properly integrated neighbourhood level working becomes the local system, rather than having to fight against it" @ojgarling.bsky.social @theqcommunity.bsky.social @matthewmezey.bsky.social
Prof Donna Hall@profdonnahall.bsky.social · last yr.The way public service organise themselves around individual service silos rather than people, families & communities means 80% of our resources go on multiple assessments & referrals rather than supporting people. This is where the money 💰 goes & why we need #RadicalPlaceLeadership across the UK.
This 👇🏼
Prof Donna Hall@profdonnahall.bsky.social · last yr.HUGE reform of SEND needed. We spend most resources on assessment & referral rather than quality early help for children. New Public Management at its worst! #RadicalPlaceLeadership @mutualventures.bsky.social @wendylansdown.bsky.social @joesarling.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/education/20...
This petition calling on the Government NOT to make cruel cuts to benefits that will force more people into poverty now has almost 65,000 signatures. Let’s make it 100,000 this weekend. It only takes a moment to sign🙏 act.38degrees.org.uk/act/no-cruel...
NO cruel cuts to benefits
The Government is planning “catastrophic” cuts that experts say will force disabled people into poverty. Don’t think that’s right? Add your name now.
act.38degrees.org.uk
open.spotify.com/episode/6yNX... Convening Leadership Be optimistic. We are not here to preside over managed decline Tell a positive story. It helps shape optimism Whitehall & town hall Get into the messy reality What is the north star for the place .. HT @katejosephs.bsky.social
Convening Leadership with Kate Josephs 1 0
Radical Reformers podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
12/ Instead of blaming individuals, how about we focus on: ✅ The real reasons people are struggling—poverty, insecurity, overstretched services. ✅ Why people have to jump through endless hoops just to access basic mental health support. ✅ Is this a truly evidenced based policy making?
7/ The UK spends 20.6% of GDP on social provisions less than the top 5 OECD countries, who spend 29.1%. - The UK's incapacity benefits spending (inc mental health) is ⬇️ OECD average - The UK is 1 of only 4 countries to have seen a significant decline in welfare generosity over the past 40 years.
I've written a new blog! Thinking about how we listen and learn and get stuff done together... neighbourhoodcares.wordpress.com/2025/02/14/l... @tobylowe.bsky.social @carolineslocock.bsky.social @gh72.bsky.social @ojgarling.bsky.social
Learning from the Inside Out
by @wendylansdown on Bluesky I don’t think of myself as a Systems Thinker, it sounds a bit academic. I’m more of a practical person. I learn by doing stuff – experiment, listen alongside coll…
neighbourhoodcares.wordpress.com
Today, the #DHSC announced Public Health Grant allocations for 2025/26.The grant is the 'bread and butter' for local authorities implementing services to improve people’s health says @davidjbuck.bsky.social, Senior Fellow. Read our response in full 👇 https://buff.ly/42Ml6cf
The King’s Fund Responds To Public Health Grant Allocations In England | The King's Fund
David Buck, Senior Fellow, responds to the public health grant allocations to local authorities for 2025/26.
buff.ly
PAC report lays bare the short-termism and failure of govt to join up policies when it comes to homelessness, causing unnecessary costs and human suffering. Hopefully, the new govt will work with homeless charities to develop a preventative strategy, soon. committees.parliament.uk/committee/12...
Homelessness crisis places unsustainable pressure on local authorities' crumbling finances - Committees - UK Parliament
Families face long stretches in unsuitable accommodation and the prospect of being relocated.Dire need for housing sector reform and increase in the availability of affordable housing.
committees.parliament.uk
In 2023, Hilary Cottam joined our podcast to talk about the importance of building new systems that are equipped to deal with the health challenges of today, & the need to foster ‘horizontal’ bonds between communities & public services. Listen to episode in full. www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
Reimagining the welfare state with Hilary Cottam OBE | The King's Fund
Anna Charles speaks to Hilary Cottam OBE about the importance of building new systems that are equipped to deal with the health challenges of today.
kingsfund.org.uk
Children facing a ‘happiness recession’ says laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Children facing a ‘happiness recession’ says laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Author will highlight the ‘enormous disadvantage’ handed to children without access to books, and call on government to improve early-years literacy Children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is calling on Keir Starmer’s government to “stand up and give a…
theguardian.com
A good read www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
‘A welfare state with a budget on the right side of zero’: Iceland’s youngest-ever prime minister has a plan for a new kind of governance
Kristrún Frostadóttir, who entered politics just four years ago, speaks to the Observer about feminism, the far right and reopening talks on joining the EU
theguardian.com
Re-reading this book on Elinor Ostrom and this is such a nice paragraph (NB: lightly edited): "From the beginning of her career, Ostrom emphasized that political change and improvements in policy outcomes are driven by public entrepreneurs (public officials, community leaders, citizens). 1/n
"Contributions from a wide range of public entrepreneurs are also critical to the long-term sustainability of the civic foundations of liberal democracy." (I like it partly because it brings hope and shows we have agency. Change comes from an array of people across the system, not from the top.)
